The Incredible Shrinking TV Season: Analysis

For decades, audiences have been viewing television seasons
that consist of approximately 22 episodes over the course of the year. In
recent times though, that number has been slimming down. FOX’s 2013 anachronistic
tale “Sleepy Hollow” received 13-episode first and second season orders; the
same occurred for NBC’s serial killer drama “Hannibal,” CBS’s “Under the Dome”
and ABC’s “Mistresses,” helmed by Alyssa Milano.

What is the cause of this craze? To figure that out, first we have to review
why the 22-episode rule was the standard for so long.

“That 22-, 23-episode number is probably calibrated not to the length of the
season or production schedules,” offered
“Person of Interest” showrunner, Jonathan Nolan, “but to the exact point at
which a showrunner will have a nervous breakdown.”

That number is also considered of importance because a show is more likely to
be syndicated after it achieves around 88 episodes, or about four seasons.
However, this is not a strict number by any means.

Seemingly, the success of 10-episodes-per-season premium cable series like “Game
of Thrones” on HBO, as well 13-episode-per-season Netflix originals like “House
of Cards” and “Orange is the New Black” is causing the networks to reconsider
the length of a season.

“I do think that, when you slow the conveyor belt
down, the quality control tends to go up,” says “Lost”
and “The Leftovers” showrunner Damon Lindelof. “And the pacing of the
storytelling, particularly for on-going serialized dramas, means that you don’t
need to do non-essential episodes, just because you have to fill this
pre-existing schedule.”

“With something that’s on all the time, it’s hard to be rare
and special when you’re neither rare nor special. Having a limited idea is a
very modern way to tell a story,” Kring told Entertainment Weekly.

Many point to the BBC’s “Sherlock,” a lauded contemporary adaptation
of the classic Sir Arthur Conan Doyle story, as an archetypal example of where
less can be more; each season of the show includes only three 90-minute
episodes.

And earlier this month, Academy Award winner Halle Berry began appearing in the
13-episode futuristic space mystery “Extant” on CBS.

Casselberry goes on to bring up another noteworthy factor:

“People prefer seasons of 10-13 episodes that
require a bit less of a commitment and can be binged over a shorter period of
time, rather than the old standard 24- to 26-episode slogs … our time is more
precious [now].”

Overall, the decrease in episode numbers can be boiled down to three key
points. Less episodes allows for more staff dedication to writing and
production, provides the option to employ higher tier performers and does not
restrict the 21st century viewer by occupying a huge amount of their
time.